Patterson Reacts to Ogden Shooting

(CNN) -- Utah law enforcement officers mourned one
of their own Thursday after a shooting left one officer dead and five
others wounded.

The Wednesday night incident took place when they were attempting to serve a search warrant.

The six officers and the suspect were rushed to hospitals, Ogden Assistant Police Chief Marcy Korgenski said.

Officer Jared Francom died from his wounds, Ogden police said early Thursday.

"Agent Francom has served the citizens of Ogden city with honor for seven years," authorities said in a statement.

Francom is survived by his wife and two young children, the statement said.

The suspect, identified as Matthew David Stewart, 37, suffered injuries not considered to be life-threatening, authorities said.

The wounded officers were identified as Sgt. Nate Hutchinson with the
Weber County Sheriff's Office; and Jason Vanderwarf, Shawn Grogan,
Kasey Burrell and Michael Rounkles. CNN affiliate KSL said Vanderwarf is
with the Roy police and Grogan, Burrell and Rounkles are Ogden
officers.

Ogden Regional Medical Center said Thursday that Vanderwarf was treated and released.

The four other officers remained in Ogden's McKay-Dee Hospital,
spokesman Chris Dallin said. Three were in critical condition, and one
was in stable condition, Dallin said.

Several officials fought tears as they discussed the incident at a news conference

"This is a family. This is a law enforcement family," Ogden Police
Chief Wayne Tarwater said. "The law enforcement community is mourning."

"We have lost a brother," Weber County Sheriff Terry Thompson said.
"We will grieve this loss" with the knowledge that Francom gave his life
for his fellow officers and the community, he said.

The officers, part of a multi-agency narcotics task force, were
attempting to serve a search warrant "based on probable cause there was
drug activity" at an address in Ogden, Tarwater said. He would not
elaborate.

The warrant was a "knock-and-announce," meaning that officers knock
on a residence's door and announce their presence, he said. If no one
answers, "under certain circumstances, they will go ahead and enter the
home. That's exactly what happened." When they entered the home, the
officers came under fire, he said.

The task force requires officers to wear bulletproof vests, he said,
and "as far as I know, the officers were wearing vests and protective
gear."

Stewart has a "limited criminal history," Tarwater said. He did not
have specifics but said he believed Stewart's record was mostly
misdemeanors.

Asked about reports that as many as 12 officers were sent to the
home, strike force commander Lt. Darin Parke told reporters that number
is not unusual. There was "not really a great deal that set this
investigation apart ... other than the outcome," he said.

The shooting will be subject to an internal investigation as well as
an external review by the Weber County attorney, he said. Citing those
investigations, police limited the release of information.

Tarwater thanked the state of Utah, particularly police agencies, for
their support. He said that at one point, at an Ogden hospital
Wednesday night, there were "40 officers from probably seven different
agencies."

Gov. Gary Herbert met with families of the officers and said funds
were set up for their future needs. "Our hearts go out to them," he told
reporters at one of the hospitals.

Herbert ordered that state and U.S. flags be lowered in the city of Ogden to honor the officers, Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell said.

Thursday was Caldwell's first day on the job.

Ogden is about 40 miles north of Salt Lake City in northern Utah.

Clayton Payne, a resident of the neighborhood where the shootings
took place, told KSL, "I was sitting in the front room watching TV,
heard three pops. My fiance asked if they were fireworks. I said, 'No,
those are gunshots.' "

He said he ran outside after hearing what sounded like an AK-47.

"I ran out here to see what was going on, and I was escorted back to
my house by the cops," he said. "They said, 'Get in your house. Get
down.'"

The shootings follow a year in which U.S. cities saw an increase in officers killed.

The number of officers who died in the line of duty in 2011 increased
16% nationwide from last year, according to the National Law
Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Last year, 177 officers were killed, compared with 153 in 2010, the organization said.

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Meanwhile in Casper, City Manager John Patterson reacted to the shootings in his former home. For nine years he was a city administrator in Ogden and worked with some of the officers involved in the shooting. "[The deceased officer] is a young man that I knew; he's the age of my children." said Patterson. "It's just tragic."